Pessaries



UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

JOSEPH M. HEARD, 0F ABERDEEN, MISSISSIPPI.

PESSARIES.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 28,480, dated May 29, 1860.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH M. HEARD, of Aberdeen, in the county of Monroe and State of Mississippi, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Pessaries; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specilication, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a pessary, constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a central section of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures.

The two descriptions of pessary in most common use, the globe and ring, are liable to the following objections: The globe pessary sustains the uterus higher up than any other, but the convex surface being in constant contact with the .0s miem' produces more or less irritation, abrasion and ulceration of the neck of the womb, and at the same time favors anteversion and retroversion of the organ and prevents more or less the escape of the secretions. The ring pessary as ordinarily constructed. obviates the above objections, but does not sustain the womb high enough and to do much good requires to be very large, and is consequently liable to encroach on the bladder and rectum.

The object of my invention is to obviate these objections, and to this end my invention consists in the construction of a pessary in the form of a ring having its anterior and posterior sides retreating in an upward direction.

The form of my improved ring pessary is best illustrated in Fig. 2. a represents the upwardly retreating anterior side, which provides room for the bladder but allows it to rest on the retreating surface and is also adapted to the form of the female pelvis; and Z ,`is the upwardly retreating posterior side which fits in the hollow of the sacrum and allows the rectum to pass without dii'liculty. The diameter of this pessary may be considerably less than that of the ordinarily constructed ring pessary, and its depth may be the same as that of the globe pessary or of any desirable depth, while its opening c obviates the objections to that kind of pessary. Hence while it is free from the objections to the globe and ordinarily constructed ring pessary it possesses advantages not obtained by either.

My improved pessary may be made of india-rubber, gutta-percha, glass or other material with its sides solid as represented, or of silver or other metal with its sides of metal. If made of metal it should be gilt.

That I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is The construction of the pessary with its anterior side retreating upwardly to form a support to the bladder and with its posterior side retreating upwardly to lit the hollow of the sacrurn substantially as herein described.

JosEPH M. HEARD.

litnesses JOHN T. LOWE, F. H. EVANS. 

